The last thing PWR BTTM are ready to do is mope; instead they've chosen to create a record that feels defiantly optimistic and celebratory.

This is deeply intuitive, subtly detailed, endlessly grooving, holistic jazz-trance music that was improvised at an extremely high level.

Slayyyter certainly cribs from many of her dance influences on WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA, she never fails to make them her own.

Even with some of the smoke and mirrors removed, Ariel Pink is still a singular talent.

Art of the Improviser serves as a testament to Shipp's achievements, yet it is also a continuation of the discovery in his developmental musical language.

Made Possible finds the Bad Plus openly wrestling with the complex interrelationship between rhythm, harmony, and improvisation (individual and collective). It offers a more inviting aural view of the group confronting these questions, and the historic weight and imposing boundaries associated with "the piano trio" in jazz.

The passing of time has only increased Blur's stature as a British treasure and this is a concert that suits their status: it's crowd-pleasing without pandering.

Gorgeously recorded and mixed by Guip, Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams is 44 minutes of roots music gold.

This is hardly the first or best study of the U.K. punk scene of the '70s, but Action Time Vision is an impressive tribute to the early stirrings of indie culture in England, and it's great listening throughout.

Amo is a genre-bending thrill ride that marks a brave new era for the band. Placing a significant amount of trust in their fan base, Bring Me the Horizon deliver an utterly refreshing and forward-thinking statement that finds them in complete control of their vision.

From beginning to end, The Long Goodbye is pure Pere Ubu: surprising, unexpectedly tender, and above all, thought-provoking. Even by their standards, this is a wild and challenging album -- coming full circle rarely sounds this exhilarating.

It's a striking album of hidden layers and plenty of craft that entrances from start to finish.

While LaFarge might still be a time-traveling rock troubadour, he seems to have found the center of his musical universe with In the Blossom of Their Shade.

There isn't a weak moment here, not even a middling one. Auerbach's Easy Eye Sound is forging a unique path into the future of blues, one artist and one impeccable track after another.

Bold and fearless, Chappell Roan's The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess is the best kind of pop album: it captures a generational zeitgeist and introduces the world to a refreshing new voice that can hopefully stand the test of time and a fickle industry.

There's a strong mood setting vibe on Motion I, one that finds Out Of/Into drawing upon Blue Note's past while pushing toward the future.

As a final album, Mulatu Plays Mulatu stands with his very best work and is a bittersweet joy to celebrate.

Shows a refreshing rawness that was absent before.

Ultimately, Fever to Tell might be slightly disappointing, but it delivers slightly more than an EP's worth of good to great songs, proving that even when they're uneven, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are still an exciting band.

The Ugly Organ is greater than the sum of its parts, with tracks that flow into one another seamlessly in spite of the wildly varying tempo and stylistic changes, not surprisingly like a classical piece in that regard.

Wind's Poem strikes a balance between accessibility and ambition that offers something for every kind of Elverum fan, but never sacrifices its purpose in the process.

It's a marvel of design and execution that registers mostly as activated, unrelenting noise pop and invites listeners to discover something new and joyfully befuddling every time they listen back.

The album features a smart balance between serious, inward-looking ballads and dance tracks, and Starr writes from a personal perspective about the mix of emotions and circumstances brought about by early adulthood and stardom.

Crushing is riveting right from the spare, noir-tinged opening track, "Body," which remembers the moment Jacklin decided to leave the relationship after her partner got them thrown off a flight.

The Path of the Clouds was constructed by Nadler sending frameworks of songs to long-distance collaborators; Seth Manchester (Lightning Bolt, Battles, METZ) later mixed the album after judiciously adding feedback and distorted guitars. These adjustments perfectly suit the album's epic, aching songs, which refuse to keep tragedy at arm's length.

[Everything Hits at Once] proves there are few bands more adept at giving the venerable best-of compilation a refresh.

Placenta's sound, while immediately recognizable as a work of Niño's, goes very deep and very wide due to his familiarity, respect for, and reliance on the gifts of his studio cast.

King Gizzard are restless and brilliant and listeners must follow everything they do like a hawk because they might unleash something classic, just like they did with Ice, Death, Planets, Lungs, Mushrooms and Lava.